Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is onboard a “Cessna 406—a bushplane” (1) to visit his father for the summer. He is lost in thought, thinking about his parents’ divorce and “what he knew and had not told anybody, what he knew about his mother that had caused the divorce, what he knew, what he knew—the Secret” (3). The pilot notices Brian observing him and offers to teach him to fly the plane. He assures Brian that flying is much easier than it seems. Brian finds that to be true as he learns the pedals and controls.

Brian thinks about his parents’ divorce and the way his mother tried to talk with him on the drive to the airport. He refused to tell her why he was so upset and reveal his awareness of her affair. He suddenly notices a “constant odor” and looks at the pilot, who is “rubbing the shoulder and down the arm now, the left arm” (7). Brian remembers that he still has his hatchet attached to his belt, the hatchet his mother gave him as a gift just before leaving him at the airport. He is thinking about the hatchet and how odd it is to have one strapped to his belt on a plane when the pilot begins to have a heart attack.